(Frankfort, Ky) New materials on the history of Kentucky African-Americans are now online at the Kentuckiana Digital Library, a project of the Kentucky Virtual Library. The materials are from the library collection at Kentucky State University and include four books and the Kentucky Negro Education Association Journal from 1916-1952.

"We are thrilled to enhance the historical resources available to Kentucky and the world,” explained Walter Baker, a member of the Council on Postsecondary Education and president of the Kentucky Historical Society. The Kentucky Virtual Library is a part of the Kentucky Virtual University, a unit of the Council.

“These materials provide teachers, school children, scholars and genealogists with important records on African-American history in Kentucky," added Baker.

The books include: “A Century of Negro Education in Louisville,” by George D. Wilson; “Pictorial Directory of the Kentucky Association of Colored Women,” by Lucy Harth Smith; “History of the Anti-Separate Coach Movement of Kentucky,” by S. E. Smith; and “A Brief History of the Colored Churches of Frankfort, Ky.,” by Elsworth E. Underwood.

Kentuckians can also browse through full-page images of the “Kentucky Negro Education Association Journal” which includes proceedings of the association, articles, advertisements, new school dedications and award announcements.

The Kentuckiana Digital Library digitizes finding aids, photos, sound recordings, diaries, scrapbooks, books of Kentucky history and other materials held by the special libraries and archives of Kentucky. Currently the collection includes more than 3,700 finding aids, 10,000 photographs, 80 oral history transcripts, 120 electronic texts (diaries, scrapbooks, etc) and more than 50 audio files.

Libraries that have included materials from their collections include Centre College, Eastern Kentucky University, Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Department of Library and Archives, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Western Kentucky University, Asbury College, Berea College, Transylvania University and Lexington Public Library.

The Kentuckiana Digital Library is located at www.kyvl.org. For more information, call toll-free at 1-877-588-5288.

The Kentucky Virtual Library is part of the Kentucky Virtual University, a unit of the Council on Postsecondary Education. The Council coordinates change and improvement in Kentucky's public colleges and universities.